Everyday puzzles

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Everyday puzzles

Everyday puzzles

7

by :

KatB

Humans have been, historically speaking, astonishingly ignorant. Not until comparatively recently did we realise that our small blue and green planet is, in fact, round and not flat. Knowledge was the preserve of the elite, much of which was in fact based on superstition and educated guesswork.

Luckily, the scientists of the 15th and 16th century Renaissance dragged mankind - kicking and screaming and clutching to its superstitious ways - out of the Dark Ages. During the eighteenth century, a period known now as the Enlightenment, many political and philosophical revolutionaries challenged existing social systems. And then, in the twentieth century, civil rights movements shocked the world into recognising gender and racial equality as a right, rather than a privilege.

Great minds will always challenge the status quo. Scientists, philosophers, explorers and avant-garde artists: they all contribute to the progress of mankind. They are constantly searching for answers to the really big questions, such as if there could be life on other planets, or if there is a God.

We normal folk, however, face our own set of unanswerable everyday mysteries. A set of nagging puzzles life likes to throw at us now and again, if you will. You know what I mean - like why does it only rain when I have forgotten my umbrella? Or why is the traffic always worse when I am already late? Why is Justin Bieber famous? And why do my house keys insist on running away from me? I’m sure I left them in my bag …

If anyone has the answer to any of these unanswerable everyday mysteries, please let me know (particularly the last one)!

Me either, my favorite period of history is from the 14th to the 17th century where humanism was stressed and a lot of masterpieces of arts were create even in the East as well as in the West!
I like your article, KatB! I felt like I could solve all your everyday misteries, or maybe I could help you find the ways to understand! For now, as for your keys, how many house keys do you have, by the way? I don't have many house keys, so my key never runs away and I always pay my attention to the key all the time keeping with a charming keyholder so that I won't leave it behind. ...And can you tell which key has the key role in your house? Your main key might have got lost while no2 and no3 keys were searving...?? Anyway, what a lovely blog!

Thank you so much for your kind words Elsa! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I only have two house keys but somehow I manage to always lose them, but a keyring is an excellent idea. The 14th - 17th centuries were fascinating, agreed; do you have any favourite artists or works of art?

Get a charming keyring and keep it at hand, KatB! ッ ... I like pottery and porcelain in Ming Dynasty in China and Westetn artists such as Impressionism, Raffaello, Bruegel, Vermeer and so on...! I also like some of the modern art!

Hi Loki, that's a good point. Hmm, I agree with a saying, 'You can't control the things that happen to you but you can control the way you react to them'. And..., 'I fall too fast, crash too hard, forgive too easy, and care too much'!...My inspiration is far from the turnoff!!?

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Our Magazine is written by young people from the UK. Each year we select a new group of bloggers, from the British Council’s language assistants, who share their experiences of learning languages and living abroad. The views and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the LearnEnglish Teens team.